By Sami Zaptia.
London, 19 October 2021:
A group of over 100 tourists of different European nationalities arrived at the Tunisian-Libyan Wazen land border crossing on Monday, in the first visit of an international tourist group to Libya in more than 10 years. The trip is under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts, and in cooperation with the Murcia Company for Tourism and Passenger Transport.
The Tourism Ministry said the visit of the tourist group comes within its efforts aimed at resuming the activity of the international tourism, in cooperation with the Libyan private sector working in the field of tourism, and aims to change the stereotyped image of Libya, and within the government’s wider economic recovery programmes.
Ali Al-Kubba, director of the Murcia Travel and Tourism Company, which is supervising the organization of the trip, said: “This great achievement comes within the company’s vision that aims to resume the movement of tourism activity, and it is the fruit of a marathon effort that lasted for four months to prepare for the trip in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts, and raises the slogan (Together we returned to the bosom of the desert), and a loftier slogan (Together for Libya), which is of great importance in supporting the tourism sector and the Libyan economy through the resumption of cross-border tourism activity.”
Al-Kubba also stressed the continuation of the company’s initiatives and the continuation of work on organizing other trips targeting larger numbers of international tourists, early next December, as part of initiatives to create conditions for the resumption of tourism activity in Libya. He thanked all government agencies and institutions, private companies and organizations that provided logistical support for the trip, food and accommodation, and the security services that have begun to secure the movement of the tourist group since its entry into Libyan territory.
Al-Kubba added: “I extend my highest appreciation to everyone who supported this achievement, and to the initiators of contributing to the success of this effort, and I would like to thank the desert car drivers who took the initiative to donate free of charge to secure transportation for the tourist group and accompany it throughout the trip, and all security agencies and municipalities for their good cooperation and response to support this initiative.”
The tour program includes a stop at several tourist destinations in the desert, as well as a visit to Tripoli and Sabratha at the end of a 12-day trip, interspersed with tours and performances by folk art groups in some of the targeted cities along the itinerary.
